SEO for online stores is one of the main marketing strategies that helps you get more targeted visits to your product pages. It may be difficult in the beginning, but completing a few steps will help you get consistent traffic in the long run if you do it right.
In this article, we will discuss how to improve SEO for online stores, step by step, so that your store ranks at the top of search results. We will begin by identifying some important terms in the field of search engine optimization for online stores, and then we will discuss the steps that must be taken practically.
Search engine mechanisms
Search engines are software built on the basis of a huge database consisting of a set of information obtained through periodic archiving of websites. These engines play the role of querying by displaying search results for a specific topic after the user types it into the search engine. Examples of these engines include Google, Bing, and Yandex. For more, read the search engine optimization guide that we prepared previously.
Search Results Pages (SERP)
When you type a word or phrase into the search engine, a set of arranged results appear to you. This page on which the results appear is called the “search results page,” which provides the user with content related to the entered word, arranged according to a set of factors specific to search engines, and it looks like the following:
It is worth noting that the online stores that top the first results have the highest visitor rate because 90% of users click on the first results, which is logical and natural behavior. This in turn leads to increased sales and conversions in your online store. Therefore, it is important to find a way to improve the ranking in search results, and this is what we will explain in our article.
Main keyword
A primary keyword is the word or phrase that your target audience uses on search engines to search for any topic they want. For example, let us say that the keyword is “ Rolex watch. ” When we enter it into the search engine, a set of results appear to us as follows:
This keyword must be focused on in your content while following SEO optimization strategies for online stores so that your store appears among the first search results.
Using the keyword, you can also determine who you want to visit your website. Instead of focusing on the phrase “ Rolex watch ,” you can use the phrase “ men’s Rolex watch ” to target people interested in men’s Rolex watches only.
The importance of SEO for online stores
The success or failure of online stores depends on their ability to attract customers and obtain sales. This means that improving the store’s SEO is at the forefront of the elements and strategies affecting increasing revenues and reducing costs. Here is the importance of SEO for online stores:
Improve user experience
SEO works to improve the user experience of the online store indirectly. When marketers improve the search engines for a store, they are in fact improving the user experience. You will find them increasing the speed of loading website pages, providing valuable content, improving the store’s design to reduce the bounce rate, and other elements that make It makes the visitor’s browsing process a comfortable experience.
It also helps SEO to understand customers and what they want by searching for keywords. Let us return to our previous example when focusing on the word “Rolex watch.” Perhaps by searching for keywords related to this word, you will find that customers are searching for the phrase “gold Rolex watch” or “Rolex Datejust watch” more than any other phrase, and this gives you an idea about Customer desires and what product specifications they are looking for.
Facilitate customers’ access to your products
If you have a new online store, you must attract and attract visitors to it through the search engine by accessing the words they are searching for, as they are already searching for your products. This is in contrast to if you rely on paid advertisements continuously, you will not always be guaranteed quality access to targeted customers to buy your products.
Marketing strategy at a lower cost
Without search engine optimization in your store, you will have to use some other marketing strategies. You may use paid ads (CPC), in which the cost per click may reach $1, or you may resort to allocating advertising space on a site in exchange for a certain amount.
With SEO, the matter is different, and with the exception of the costs of hiring a search engine optimization specialist, a content writer, or the rest of the costs of the SEO optimization process, you get free traffic from the search engine without paying money to the search engine.
SEO is a long-term strategy
Your store’s advertisement will stop reaching the audience when the budget allocated for that advertisement expires, or Facebook may close the store’s page at any time and for any reason, or some restrictions may be imposed on it. As for SEO, the marketing process for your store is a relatively safe and stable process.
SEO is a long-term strategy, unlike other strategies that are updated every year or every month. We find that search engine optimization continues and is improved from time to time so that store pages are in the first results. As for removing results from search engines, this is not expected unless there is Make a mistake, and you will quickly find that competing for the top results and attracting more customers will be a fantasy without improving the SEO of your store.
Steps to improve SEO for online stores
The goal of the search engine (Google) is to benefit the visitor and answer all his questions so that he does not need to return to Google again to search for the answer or use other methods of searching. This is why we find that the search engine ranks sites that meet its criteria in the first results of the search results. In order to meet these criteria, you will need to improve the SEO of the online store with the following steps:
1. Improving SEO within the online store
What we mean by internal SEO is all the practices within the online store through which it can improve its ranking on search engines, including product pages, the home page, blog content, etc., and we talked about this in detail in the guide to improving SEO for WordPress sites .
2. Choose keywords
The keyword is the point from which SEO improvement for online stores begins. Targeting the wrong keyword means that all your efforts face the risk of failure, as you may get visitors who are not originally interested in the content or product you are selling. There are two types of keywords:
- Short keywords, such as: (Rolex watch).
- Long-tail keywords: such as (the cheapest men’s Rolex watch).
Both types differ in terms of competition and number of searches. In general, we find that the search rate for the short keyword is high compared to its long counterpart, and this means that competition for it will also be high, and the opposite is true for long keywords that focus more on specialization in the same search term.
A- Search for the appropriate keyword
When searching for the appropriate keyword, the keyword or keyword phrase must be chosen carefully. The person who searches for “Rolex watch” is not like the person who searches for “Rolex watch, size 42,” for example. The first person may not be ready to buy the watch, but rather search and see only. Second, his identification of the exact specifications of the product will be a strong indicator of his willingness to purchase.
As for ways to identify keywords, both short and long, here is a list of the most prominent ways to do so:
B- Using search suggestions on Google
When you search in the Google search engine, it will suggest some words and phrases, which are the phrases that have a high search rate. For example, let us search on Google for the phrase: “ Adidas shoes .” Google will show you a set of suggestions as shown in the picture:
You can also find more suggested phrases and keywords at the end of the results page, under “Related Searches,” as shown in the image.
C- Use Amazon search suggestions
Similar to Google, the Amazon search engine offers a set of suggestions related to the search term, but keep in mind that there is a difference between Amazon Saudi Arabia or the Emirates and Amazon America or Britain, as each store targets customers in a specific country.
Therefore, you will not get enough suggestions when using Amazon America while targeting words in the Arabic language. In this case, it is better to use Amazon or the to get appropriate search suggestions. In the following image, we conducted a search for a keyword through the Amazon search engine for the country. You can see the valuable suggestions that the search engine gives us.
D- Use Keyword Planner
You can also rely on the Google Keyword Planner tool , which allows you to identify the average monthly searches for keywords in any country you want, while determining the amount of competition for those words and the price per click. Knowing that all of this data is for advertisers, you may be wondering how this tool will benefit you if you are not an advertiser? Well, first you will learn about the monthly search rate, and secondly the competition between advertisers, and certainly if the keyword is highly competitive among advertisers, it will also be among publishers.
Advertisers are the people who advertise their products and services on Google through Google Adword, while publishers are the owners of websites, blogs, and YouTube channels who publish these ads on their own websites or channels through the Google Adsense program.
In addition, this tool suggests some related keywords, which will be a good source of keyword ideas that you can use, with the possibility of targeting a specific country or city.
E – Use the keywordtool
You can also try the keywordtool tool . What distinguishes this tool is that it provides information about the keyword entered in many search engines, such as Google, YouTube, Amazon, Instagram, Twitter, etc. This information includes search rate and competition. However, you will need to subscribe to the tool to obtain all the information. When we searched for “Adidas shoes,” the tool provided these suggestions while hiding some additional details, which will appear when you purchase the tool.
F- Using paid tools
All of the methods and tools we mentioned above are generally free, and there are many paid tools that allow you to study keywords more deeply, including:
- KWFinder
- Ahrefs Keywords Explorer
- SEMrush keyword magic tool
- Moz Keyword Explorer
Now the following question may come to your mind: After I have determined the appropriate keywords for the store, where and how will I place them?
Where are keywords included in the online store?
After selecting the keyword and synonyms they are included in the title, description and images on:
- Product page.
- Store home page.
- Product categories.
- Blog content for the online store.
3- Improving the structure of the online store
Improving the structure of the online store is one of the most important steps in the context of improving SEO, as it affects the user experience. Here, by site structure, we mean the way the pages that make up the online store are arranged, from the time the browser enters your site until he makes the purchase. This customer’s journey through your store must be as short as possible and must not be complicated. As it is said: “The user must reach the product in three steps.” Maximum clicks.”
Certainly, this will affect the user experience because accessing the products and the rest of the site’s pages is complicated. In addition, it may affect the indexing of the site by search engines, so 20 pages out of 50 pages of the online store will be indexed, and the store’s poor structure is as follows:
The structure of the online store must be improved by simplifying the site structure, so that it becomes in a hierarchical form without complexity, so that the site structure begins with the home page, then the basic categories, then the sub-categories, and ends with the product.
We will give an example of the Amazon website, as it provides an easy user experience without complications, and we will explain below the organized structure on which the site is based, through which it provides a comfortable and positive user experience.
From the Amazon home page, you can choose the product category you are looking for, for example we will choose “electronics”.
Now, we will select one of the subcategories and it will be “tablet”.
After that, a group of products related to the chosen category will appear to you, in just three clicks, without diving into many pages and complications.
4- Optimize links (URL)
Another factor necessary to improve the ranking of the store’s pages on search engines is the links to the site’s pages. How? Well, here we mean taking care of the link itself and the words and letters it contains, as it is preferable for the title not to be long and not to contain ambiguous words, letters or numbers, while including the keywords that you want to target within it.
Thus, the link will be easy to read and understand for users and search engines alike. A long link full of incomprehensible words and phrases may suggest that your store is not trustworthy, so you will find the user quickly leaving and heading to another store. Here’s an example of a good link:
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Display-Graphics-Keyboard-A515-43-R19L
Instead of using incomprehensible letters and numbers within the link that do not benefit the reader and do not provide him with any information, such as:
https://www.amazon.com/f55/k-12240485859403/Acer-Display
To optimize links on your online store, you will need to:
- Use lowercase letters instead of uppercase letters.
- Separate words by using a dash “-”.
- Remove unnecessary words and characters that do not contain any useful information for the user.
- Include keywords that are relevant to the product or content displayed on the page.
For more information, we advise you to read the article we prepared about the concept of permanent links (Permalinks) and their use to improve SEO
5- Improve titles
Titles appear in search engines and have a major role in attracting visitors’ attention to enter the online store. Their length must range between 55-60 characters and must include the targeted keyword.
It is a good idea to use some motivating phrases in the title of your products and store pages. We mention these phrases to you:
- Exclusive discounts.
- Exclusively.
- for the first time.
- Don’t miss the opportunity.
- Before the offer ends.
6- Improving the meta description
The meta description is the text that appears directly under the title in search results. The meta description plays a role no less important than the page title in attracting visitors, because it describes the content of the page. The length of the description must not exceed 150 characters. Why? Simply because search engines will crop it and display the first 150 characters of it, and this leads to a lack of browsers’ understanding of what your site offers. A good, complete meta description looks like this:
The meta description should include keywords of interest to the visitor along with the features and offers offered to customers on the relevant page, for example: free shipping, sales, etc. If you review the images above, you will find that the word “Adidas sneakers” is naturally repeated, unlike this site:
7- Improve images
Images are one of the most used media in online stores. We find the product page containing at least 3 images; This is in order to determine the shape and specifications of the product for the visitor, in addition to the category pages that contain dozens of products. When we talk about improving images, we mean:
- Consider placing keywords in the alternative text and the name or title of the image. Instead of naming the image (IMG125403.png), for example, it is recommended that it be (Sports-Shoes-Adidas.png.).
- The size of the images matches the sizes of the online store pages.
- Reducing the size of images while maintaining quality, by using PNG or WebP formats in order to speed up the process of loading website pages.
Use some acceleration techniques, such as lazy loading of images, temporary storage , etc. For more, we advise you to learn about the concept of image SEO and use it to improve the appearance of search results .
8- Improving the content on the store pages
Another important element in improving SEO for online stores is content. Content is represented on the pages of online stores in the form of a description of the product, which must consist of at least 250 to 500 words of valuable content that provides benefit to the visitor.
It is important to include keywords in the product description, along with the features and specifications of the product. It is also possible to include some simple comparisons with other products and add a FAQ section at the end of the description.
The content on product pages plays a major role in gaining visitor trust and improving the first impression, which increases sales. Here are some tips to improve your content:
Add all product specifications including: model, weight, color, size, price, manufacturer, etc. Here’s an example of a product page:
Note the detailed technical specifications attached in the product description.
Write a comprehensive description of the products, showing the features of the product and what it offers to the buyer, while including the keywords in the context without interjection, as in the example in the following image.
Add a section for reviews and user opinions.
Use Schema to improve search results, show your products in detail, and to learn how to add them, see our guide on using Schema , which looks like this in search results:
9- Improving the internal linking of the online store pages
Internal linking improves user experience and at the same time helps Google index your pages. This internal linking usually starts from the home page, then branches out into subcategory pages, then products, and then links similar products to each other.
For example, we find that Amazon suggests some related products to buyers when they browse a specific product.
10- Improving technical SEO
SEO is not only related to keywords and their distribution within the site pages, but there are many other elements that affect the SEO of your site directly and indirectly, including the speed of the sites, compatibility with mobile phones, and the site pages being free from technical problems.
A- Technical problems
These issues relate to online store pages that may be broken, duplicated, or have missing metadata. In order to be able to discover and identify these problems, there are some tools that you can use, such as the Beam Us Up tool , which allows you to identify broken and duplicate links and other technical problems within the site while conducting a comprehensive analysis of all elements of the site.
In the image below, the tool shows you the duplicate links on the right side, along with their number, as well as the status of titles, meta descriptions, and errors found on the site’s pages.
B- Determine the site link structure
There are two types of links that you can use on your website:
- http://yourdomain.com
- http://www.yourdomain.com
It should be noted that Google considers the two domains as two sites, not one site, and this may cause you problems with indexing or duplicate content, which negatively affects your site’s ranking in search results. You must choose the preferred link and then redirect the second, meaning that when the visitor clicks on both links, he reaches your website, knowing that there is no difference in SEO whether in the first link or the second, as it is only a matter of preference.
C- Improving the loading speed of the online store
The speed of loading the online store is one of the golden elements in improving the user experience and ranking in search results. There are many tools that help you identify the speed of your online store, and there are also many practices that help you improve the loading speed of your online store .
It is worth noting that there are many add-ons that help you improve the speed of the site by preparing images and videos, merging and minifying CSS and JavaScript files, in addition to the possibility of using content sharing networks (CDN).
Note : If you discover a decline in the speed of loading your site’s pages, the problem may be with the hosting. In this case, you must contact the serving company. If the problem is not resolved, you may have to look for another hosting company.
D- Mobile compatibility
Mobile phones have become a common way to purchase products from the Internet. The vast majority of users browse the Internet, including electronic stores, via smartphones. In addition, Google places compatibility with mobile phones at the forefront of the criteria it relies on in ranking sites in search results. .
You can find out whether your online store is compatible with smartphones or not by using the Mobile Friendly Test tool . If it is not compatible with mobile phones, you must start improving your online store. In this regard, I recommend that you read the article How to Make Your Website Responsive and Friendly for Smartphones .
11- Improving the external SEO of electronic stores
By external SEO, we mean all the strategies that you implement outside your online store, which are mainly directed at building backlinks by referring other sites to your website, which works to gain the trust of search engines.
You can obtain these backlinks naturally by providing valuable content that represents a reference for many sites, so it is referred to in their content, or by purchasing them from other site owners by paying a sum of money in exchange for including the link to your site on their site pages.
In order to obtain it naturally, you will need to build a strong relationship between you and your customers, and facilitate the process of sharing content and providing valuable content. Here lies the importance of establishing a blog related to your store, in which you present topics and concepts related to your products. The blog will enhance your presence on search engines, and this in turn will increase the number of visitors to Your store and the number of backlinks you will get from those surfing your site.
In addition to the above, there are a number of strategies through which you can obtain backlinks to your online store, for example, including sharing buttons on social media platforms on product pages or articles within the store’s blog. You can also cooperate with other online stores that do not compete with you for The products themselves, in the exchange of backlinks.
At the same time, you can use influencer marketing, which refers to marketing your store and products using well-known people and social icons, especially on social media. In this regard, the idea of creating your own affiliate marketing program may be the most appropriate.
Thus, in this article, we have provided a detailed explanation of the most important steps and strategies in improving SEO for e-stores, including internal SEO, technical SEO, and external SEO. Never hesitate to start a plan to improve your store’s SEO because this will give you an opportunity to compete with the largest online stores without huge costs and to enter the competitive market strongly
